Karel Ancerl
From Orchestra Conductors
He studied from 1925 to 1929 at the Prague Conservatory with Jaroslav Kricka and Alois Haba, and finally became a pupil of Vaclav Talich and Hermann Scherchen. He became Shcerchen's assistant from 1929 to 1931 in Berlin and Munich. From 1931 to 1933 he conducted the Osvobozene Divadlo (a theatre) in Prague, and from 1933 to 1939 he became the Symphony Orchestra of Prague Radio's conductor. Forbidden to work by the Nazis, he survived the concentration camps of Theresienstadt and Auschwitz.
After the war, he dedicated all his effort to renew the musical life of Prague: in 1945 he was appointed conductor at the opera, from 1947 to 1950 he became Chief Conductor of the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra, and from 1948 to 1952 he held a post as professor at the Prague Academy. Also from 1950, he took over the directorship of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, which he retained until 1968. After the Russians marched into Prague in 1968, he emigrated to Canada and took over the leadership of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. His concentration, reflection and intuition were characteristic of the pieces he rehearsed. He was particularly fond of Brahms, Mahler, Dvorak and especially Leos Janaceks' Glagolská mse (english: Glagolitic Mass).
